"She was the hippest comedian from the time she started to the day she died," the 'Top Five' director and star tells THR

"I know people are like, 'Joan Riversbroke down all these barriers for women, blah blah blah," he said in The Hollywood Reporter's video lounge at the Toronto Film Festival. "I think it's a disservice to even group her in any — Joan Rivers is one of the greatest stand-up comedians to ever live. She's better than [Don] Rickles. She's one of the best female stand-ups to ever live. No man ever said, 'Yeah, I want to go on after Joan.' No, Joan Rivers closed the show every night."

Rock also praised Rivers for never letting her comedy get stale.

"She was 81 years old," he said. "In the history of comedy, no comedian has ever been that old and still hip. Hey, I love [Bill] Cosby — slowing down a bit. Rickles — slowing down a bit. I know comedians 40 years younger than Joan Rivers that are still telling Reagan jokes and Clinton and all sorts of lame references that they should have thrown out years ago.

"Joan Rivers never hung on to anything. She's like, 'OK, I'm doing Liz Taylor jokes. Oh she's done? There must be a new fat bitch to make fun of.' She did not fucking play. You know what I mean? She's like, 'I got Lindsay Lohan. What's Justin Bieber doing? She didn't give a fuck. She was the hippest comedian from the time she started to the day she died. So don't put Joan Rivers in a box, because she's like Mount Rushmore."

Rock is in Toronto promoting his new film, Top Five, which he also directed and wrote the screenplay for. It tells the story of a comedian trying to reinvent himself as a serious actor just as his reality TV star fiancee (GabrielleUnion) talks him into broadcasting their wedding on her show.

Sept. 8, 11:35 a.m. A previous version of this story included an anecdote from Chris Rock about participating in the final taping of Joan Rivers' short-lived Fox show on the same day that her husband Edgar Rosenberg died. Mr. Rosenberg died several months after the final taping of the program.